Sanitary tooth-brush.



N. LE VENE & A. FE E. SANITARY TOOTH BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 17. I915.

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I Patented Feb. 6,1917

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" w K fi UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATE LE VENE, OF SAN FRANCICO CALIFORNIA, AND ASA FEE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SANITARY TOOTH-BRUSH.

I specifleation of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

Application filed March 17, 1915. Serial No. 15,014.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, NATE LE VENE and AsA FEE, residents, respectively, of San Francisco, county of San Francisco, and State of California, and Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sanitary Tooth-Brushes, of which the following is a specification, the principle of The annexed drawing andthe following 1 description set forth in detail certain means embodying our invention, the disclosed means, however, constitute but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of our invention may be applied.

In said annexed drawing: Figure 1 rep resents a perspective view of a complete tooth brush embodying our invention; Fig.

2 represents a perspective view of the handle portion only of said brush. Fig. 3 representsa longitudinal section of the cleaning member, and Fig. t represents a transverse section of the latter.

The tooth brush illustrated in the drawing as embodying our invention consists of a handle-member A, an abrading-member B, and means hereinafter described for attaching and securing the cleaning member to the handle-member. The latter is provided with a seat a preferably rectangular in form, as shown, and located at the outer end of said member. Hinged to the outer end of the latter is a-bar C, which is placed so as to permit it to lie directly over and longitudinally with relation to the seat a. The free end of this bar may be attached and secured to the handle-member by means of a small hook a, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, such hook being suitably and permanently secured to the handle-member. By hinging the clamping bar C, forward of the brush seat a, we provide a simple means to hold the brush to the seat without danger to the mouth of the user. It will be apparent that if the clamping member were to become unfastened during a vigorus forward thrust, the clamping bar will not be thrust into the .cheek or jaw ofthe user.

\ 'The cleaning-member B is made of general rectangular form and of dimensions such as to snugly fit into the seat a. The upper portion of this member B is provided with a longitudinalgroove b, in which the bar C is adapted to lie. The depth of this groove is made such that when the said bar is secured by the hook at, it will press downwardly upon the member B, and thus securely hold the same in place. This member B, furthermore consists of a compressed fibrous and absorbent material such as cot ton and is prepared by first taking the fibrous material while in its loose and un'- compressed form and incorporating therein a dry dentifrice, care being taken to manipulate the cotton and dentifrice so as. to distribute the latter as evenly as possible throughout the cotton. A'required mass of the latter, so provided with the dentifrice, is thereupon subjected to the action of suit able dies and pressure to form the rectangular cleaning-member illustrated, it being also preferable to providethe die with means for forming the serrations b, on eachside of the groove 6 as shown in the drawing.

In using the above described tooth brush,

the cleaning member is dipped in water and a suflicient amount of the latter is absorbed thereby. The said member so moistened may then be applied to the teeth in the usual manner. In such application, the dentifrice exercises its usual abrading function in cooperation with the cotton, the latter taking the place of the bristles of the ordinary tooth brush. After the brushing operation has been completed, the swinging end of the bar C may be detached from the hook at and swung upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2, and the cleaning-member B re-- moved from the seat. An unused cleaningmember may then be inserted in the seat and secured in place, whereupon the brush is ready for the next operation.

By constructing the cleaning-member of a compressed fibrous material, we not onl provide means which will readily and e ciently retain the dentifrice, but also reduce the volume of the unused cleaningmember to a minimum which permitsa suitable'number thereof'to be packed wlthm a package, of convenient size, as will be readily understood. v

We have found that cotton is the most desirable substance for use in connection with our above described invention. This is for the reason that when compressed or "densely compacted cotton fibers become impregnated with water, the mass tends to expand and this tendency being largely restrained by the fastening device, makes of the moist material a body which resists compression to a considerable degree. This resistance therefore operates, in the use of a device, to more effectively cause the cot one of which is that where compressed cotton is moistened it tends to expand, whereas felt, when moistened, merely becomes flabby and is hence undesirable for use in the described invention.

Having fully described our invention,

what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is I 1. As a new article of manufacture, a tooth brush having a seat thereon, a securing member fastened to" the forward end of the seat, a cleansing member for use as part of the tooth brush and adapted to fit on the seat, said member consisting of cotton'fiber charged with a dry dentifrice and shaped to have a series of grooves extend' crosswise and asingle groove extending engthwise, said lengthwise groove adapted to take the securing member of the toothbrush.

2. A cleansing member for use as a part of a'tooth brush, said member consisting of a mass of cotton fiber charged with a dry dentifrice, said mass of fiber compressed so as to have a series of grooves extending crosswise and a single groove extending lengthwise, saidmass of fiber having a general shape adapting it to a seat on a brush. Signed by me, this 7th day of January,

NATE LE VENE. Attested by- F. H. LYNCH, A. K. DAGGETT. I 4 Signed by me this 19th day of J an., 1915.

ASA FEE. Attested b A. A. RUBAKER,

HOWARD B. Come. 

